Robert E. Griffith was an American theatre producer, stage manager, and performer who was best known for his work with Harold Prince and George Abbott on the Broadway stage.
Griffith was born sometime in the year 1907 in the town of Methuen, Massachusetts. In 1929, he made his way to Broadway and began to work as a performer. He was first seen in the play Under the Gaslight by Augustin Daly at the Bowery Theatre. Griffith worked steadily throughout the 1930s as a performer and stage manager in a string of Broadway plays such as; The Decoy, Dinner at Eight, and Merrily We Roll Along. In the 1940s and 50s Griffith moved away from performing and focused on stage managing Broadway musicals namely; Best Foot Forward, Where's Charley?, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
It was during his time as a stage manager that he came into contact with George Abbott. Abbott soon took him under his wing. Griffith decided he wished to begin producing for the theatre and recruited a young Harold Prince to devise a new musical based on a popular novel of the time 7½ Cents. After acquiring the rights to the book, Griffith hired his mentor George Abbott.